KR101429799B1 - Call group set up, managing a group call and coordination of group calls - Google Patents

Abstract

Is an invention relating to the coordination of group calls involving mobile terminals in a communication network. In one embodiment, a method is provided for managing group calls involving a plurality of mobile communication devices, wherein the plurality of mobile communication devices are registered with a communication network via a serving node, and at least a first radio access node Establishing a data communication channel with the plurality of mobile communication devices to perform a group call, the method comprising: identifying a radio access node adjacent to the first radio access node; Defining the group call area based on the first radio access node and an adjacent radio access node; And setting a signaling channel in a cell corresponding to the neighboring radio access node, the signaling channel including an identifier corresponding to the group call area. In another embodiment, a group call area is defined using the group identifier received at the serving node.

Description

{CALL GROUP SET UP, MANAGING GROUP CALL AND COORDINATION OF GROUP CALLS}

The present invention relates to coordination of group calls involving mobile communication networks and mobile terminals operating in such networks, and embodiments of the present invention are particularly well suited for use by members of a group It is suitable to adjust the group calls when moving, but the embodiments are not limited thereto.

Conventional mobile communication networks, e. G. Digital cellular communication networks according to the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard, allow a subscriber to initiate a group broadcast call to other subscribers of the group. To provide voice broadcast services. Voice broadcast services for such GSM systems are specified in GSM 03.69, the GSM standard associated with GSM standard 03.68.

In general, a particular group is identified by a group ID. A common control channel (for example, a notification channel (NCH) in GSM) broadcasts a notification message including a description and a group ID of a channel used in a group call in the network. Therefore, users stored in the mobile terminal of the users with the correct group ID, for example, users stored in the SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card of the GSM mobile unit can recognize the notification message, The user can access the group call by tuning the channel. Furthermore, in a conventional voice group call service (VGCS) system, a specific user can request and obtain an uplink channel, whereby the user is allowed to talk to the group. A particular mobile user must be subscribed to a group call service provider to be allowed to initiate group calls or participate in group calls.

For example, group call attributes including a list of (group call area) cells to which a group call is broadcast are typically stored in a separate network, such as, for example, a Group Call Register (GCR) Compiled to the node database. The group call register is typically associated with a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) in the GSM system.

With respect to the group call, a specific problem arises when a plurality of group calls having the same group ID are performed in overlapping cells. A mobile station that wishes to join a group call in one existing arrangement may receive a notification message from a mobile station in a cell that is the first to be received by the mobile device, And select one of notification broadcast messages to be broadcasted. With respect to mobile devices that are already engaged with the group call at the time of moving to the overlapping cell, other known mechanisms restrict mobile devices to remain in the associated group before moving to the cell, No. WO 0131964 describes a mechanism whereby such groups are merged to form a single group cell (including multiple participants). There is no intelligent choice between group calls in both of these configurations, and the choice is either arbitrary or hard wired or not selectable based on initial group designations . Furthermore, there is no means to limit the members of the group call, provided that the mobile user is subscribed to the group call service provider, his terminal can join the group call.

Another problem arises when mobile devices move between cells. Subscribers of existing group call services are generally permitted to move between cells and cells while remaining in group calls, under the assumption that a group call is broadcast in each new cell where the subscriber roams. However, if the group call is not broadcast in the new cell, the group call will no longer be available to the subscriber. Further, changing the cell shortly interferes with the subscriber's receipt of the group call until the subscriber's mobile terminal is listened to the new cell's notification channel and adjusted to the appropriate group call channel in the new cell.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of configuring a call group for participation in a group call by a plurality of mobile devices in a mobile telecommunications network, And a serving node operable to send and receive data to or from the mobile communication devices, wherein, at the serving node, a group identifier Receiving indicative data indicative of the data; And defining a group call area using the received group identifier, wherein the serving node identifies one call group registered in the communication network and another call group registered in the communication network Wherein the defined group call area is accessible by the serving node; Is provided.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the group call areas are defined on the basis of the identifiers unique to the group, and this is because two or more group calls having the same group calling identifier do not interfere with each other and exist in the same cell Lt; / RTI > The communication network conveniently has data identifying group call numbers and the number of at least one group call is reserved for dynamic group calls. As a result, the number of group calls can be used to identify a group call as a group call of a static type or as a group call of a dynamic type, thereby identifying the processes performed by the selected network The number of group calls may be used.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of managing group calls involving a plurality of mobile communication devices, the plurality of mobile communication devices being registered with a communication network via a serving node, At least a first radio access node operable to transmit and receive data to or from a plurality of radio access nodes for communicating with mobile communication devices, Establishing a data communication channel, the method comprising: identifying a radio access node adjacent to the first radio access node; Defining the group call area based on the first radio access node and an adjacent radio access node; And setting a signaling channel in a cell corresponding to the neighboring radio access node, wherein the signaling channel includes an identifier corresponding to the group call area.

The communication network includes a plurality of radio access nodes in the form of base stations and the serving node or switch is operative to transmit and receive data to or from the base station for conventional network arrangements. Any mobile station that establishes a data communication channel with a mobile communication device has a traffic channel and a signaling channel set therein and is displayed as an active cell in the group call area.

Further, base stations adjacent to the active base station are added to the group call area, the signaling channel is set in this adjacent cell, and each signaling channel has an identifier corresponding to the group call area. This channel assignment and de-allocation method, in contrast, provides a solution to the problem of known technology in which channels must be created when a mobile station moves into a new cell, which means that the signaling channel is already set to some potential " Because it makes it relatively simple to assign a traffic channel to it.

Conveniently, the traffic channels may be generated in response to a signaling request message from a mobile communication device identifying an adjacent radio access node, which indicates that the mobile device has moved to one of the previously designated neighboring cells, Effectively " active "cell by receiving a signaling request message. As the active cell changes, the base stations that are considered to be adjacent to the "active" cell also change, thus also changing the actual group call area. The group call area may be updated by the network in response to the traffic deassignment messages sent from the base station, in case the base station does not receive any more data with the mobile device associated with the group call. These deassignment messages may additionally be used to delete cells from a group call area that is adjacent to a cell previously designated as an active cell. As a result, in preferred configurations, the group call area includes cells immediately surrounding current active cells.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a group call management system for managing group calls involving a plurality of mobile communication devices, wherein the plurality of mobile communication devices are registered with a communication network via a serving node, Is operative to transmit and receive data to or from a plurality of radio access nodes to communicate with the registered mobile communication devices, and at least a first radio access node is operable to transmit and receive data to and from the plurality of radio access nodes Wherein the group call management system is configured to establish a data communication channel with a mobile communication device, the group call management system being responsive to a service request message identifying the first radio access node to identify a radio access node adjacent to the first radio access node, Node, the first radio access node, and And means for configuring the group call area based on an adjacent radio access node, wherein at least some of the neighboring radio access nodes are configured to set up a signaling channel, the signaling channel corresponding to the group call area The group call management system comprising:

In one configuration, the serving node includes means for configuring a group call area and the group call management system is collectively configured to provide the functions described above.

Embodiments of the present invention thus include means for intelligently controlling parties joining a group call and selectively adjusting signaling between cells to prevent the reception of a group call from being hindered And the like.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, which is set forth for purposes of illustration only and is provided for the purposes of illustration only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 is a block schematic diagram illustrating various components of a standard configuration of a mobile network;
2 is a timing diagram illustrating communication between various components shown in FIG. 1 when registering a mobile station for a group call according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a block schematic diagram showing a plurality of cells shown in Fig.
4 is a timing diagram illustrating communication between various components shown in FIG. 1 when setting up a group call according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a timing diagram illustrating communication between various components shown in FIG. 1, in connection with a member of a group call moving to a new cell in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a timing diagram illustrating communication between various components shown in FIG. 1, in connection with a member of a group call moving from an old cell in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a timing diagram illustrating communication between various components shown in FIG. 1 when adjusting the termination of a group call; FIG.

As described above, embodiments of the present invention relate to coordinating the movement of group calls over a cellular network, and more specifically, intelligently controlling the parties joining the group call as they move, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > signaling < / RTI > between cells to prevent reception from being disturbed. In order to properly recognize the level at which an embodiment of the present invention operates, a public land mobile network 1 (PLMN 1) in which such an embodiment may operate will first be described in connection with FIG.

The PLMN network shown in FIG. 1 includes a cellular network, such as a GSM or UMTS network (only one cell 100 is shown in FIG. 1). The cell 100 has a limited coverage and is connected to a base transceiver station (BTS 102) and a base station controller (BSC 103) forming a base station system Provided by PLMN 1. The BSC 103 is connected to a mobile switching center (MSC 107) having an exchange function and performs all switching functions for mobile stations such as the MS 101 located in a geographical area designated as an MSC area (Not shown). As shown in Figure 1, the MSC 107 is arranged on a basis of a network subscription associated with the MS 101 and provides various intelligent network services to the MS 101, Is connected to a service control point (SCP 117) arranged to provide access to the group call service.

In operation, the MSC 107 considers the allocation of radio resources and the impact on the mobile nature of the subscribers and provides a hand for the served mobile stations, Performs the procedures required for hand-over, call set-up, and location registration. MSC 107 is connected to a Home Location Register (HLR 115), which is a database configured to manage subscription data associated with mobile subscribers, such as MS 101. [ PLMN 1 may include one or several HLRs 115 depending on the number of mobile subscribers, the capacity of the equipment, and the organization of the PLMN network 1. The HLR 115 includes data identifying the location of mobile subscribers managed by each HLR 115 (e.g., to enable routing of calls to the HLR), data for each mobile subscription (e.g., Identification numbers attached to an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), a Mobile Subscriber ISDN Number (MSISDN)), communication service subscription information, service restriction (E.g., roaming restrictions), general subscriber attributes and preferences, and additional service information including parameters associated with these services. The MSC 107, the HLR 115 and the SCP 177 are in the form of a signaling system number (SS # 7), a Mobile Application (&Quot; MAPs "). ≪ / RTI >

Additionally, the MSC 107 is configured to receive data from the mobile subscribers MS 101 in this MSC area, such as known configurations, and to send this information to the HLR 115, ; VLR 113). And the VLR 113 is configured to receive data from the HLR 115 indicating the sets of services and triggers available to the MS 101. [ According to one embodiment of the present invention, when one assumes that a subscriber corresponding to MS 101 subscribes to a group call service coordinated by SCP 117, one of the sets of services available to MS 101 is Group calls 888 are group calls. As a result, call setup requests from MS 101, including group ID 888, trigger MSC 107 to send signaling messages to SCP 117 It is effective. The SCP 117 and the MSC 107 are configured with bespoke functionality to configure group call areas in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. This will now be described with particular reference to Figures 2 to 6, with specific examples of group calls coordinated with train employees moving from London to Edinburgh to the train.

Starting with Figure 2, the steps involved in registering the mobile station 101 with the group call service 117 will be described. In step S201, the mobile station 101 transmits a registration request message including a TFN, which is a unique identifier for the group. In the present example, the unique identifier conveniently includes the identity of the train previously provided to the mobile station 101 (actually provided to other mobile stations corresponding to the personnel of the train). The registration request is forwarded to the MSC 107 via the BSS 105, which triggers the registration request message to be forwarded to the SCP 117 in step S203. As shown in FIG. 2, the registration request message received by the SCP 117 includes the group identifier TFN and MSISDN of the individual mobile station 101 originated in the registration request in step S201. In the present example, the unique identifier TFN identifies the functional number of a particular train and includes a call type (train number), a train running number and a function code (e.g., a driver) It can be constituted by the same part. Thus, for example, if it is assumed that the train has train number 2, train running number 00175, and function code 01, the identifier TFN received from the SCP 117 may be 2 00175-01. It can be appreciated that the identifier may be formed by data identifying other characteristics of the train.

In response to receiving the MSISDN and TFN information, the SCP 117 first checks whether the requesting mobile station 101 is authorized to participate in the group service, and if it is authorized, And the mappings between the mobile stations and the mobile stations (step S205). This data can then be used to process subsequent requests for group calls. Under the assumption that the registration was successful, the SCP 117 sends an acknowledgment message to the MSC 107 in step S207 and the MSC returns this acknowledgment message to the mobile station 101 via the BSS 105 . In Figure 3, although registration has appeared with only one mobile station, in a configuration where the request is a prerequisite for joining a group call, all such mobile stations will be required to register with the service. It should be noted, however, that the particular registration process described herein is completely independent of, and exemplary of, the processes involved in managing and setting up group calls in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. In practice, registering with the group call service may be effected by updating the Over The Air (OTA) SIM in one alternative configuration, while embodiments of the present invention allow all participating mobile devices to access group services For example, when the group call is an open VGCS type (open VGCS type)).

Returning now to Figure 3, it is assumed that the train is in the process of moving through the cells 100a, 100b, and 100c in the current example, and that a group call request is received from the mobile station 101 when located in the cell 100a do. 4, the group call request is received by the mobile station 101 that sends a standard group call setup message (step S401), which is sent to the mobile station 101 with a unique identifier for this call (TFN) (In this example, 888). Which is received by the SCP 117 along with the cell ID (in this case, 100a corresponding to the base station BS 105a). In step S407 the SCP 117 holds this group ID 888 and data representing an ongoing group call with unique group identity matching received in step S401 Perform a look-up on the database. In the current example, the SCP 117 is configured to match the train running number portion of the Train Functional Number (TFN), but the entire string of the TFN, or indeed different parts, Or its transformation can be used alternatively. In this case, such a group call does not exist, and thus, in step S407, an entry is created in the group call table managed by the SCP 117 for a new call having the group identity TFN and the group ID 888. [

In embodiments of the present invention, the SCP 117 may additionally store or access tables listing static group call numbers and dynamic group call numbers. For illustrative purposes, group IDs in the range 880-888 are assumed to be reserved for dynamic group calls, and if the group call is determined to correspond to a dynamic group call, the function called in the SCP 117 is called a dynamic group call Which is invoked in accordance with conventional methods of handling the < / RTI > It should be noted that the static group calls are processed according to conventional methods and are outside the scope of the present invention.

In the current example, the group ID is 888, which represents a dynamic group call. In response to identifying that the group call is a dynamic type, the SCP 117 identifies all cells adjacent to the current cell 100a through, for example, a prestored cell configuration map. The message containing the list of neighboring cells is then transmitted to the MSC 107 along with the unique group identifier TFN in step S409. This message includes instructions for the MSC 107 to create a group call area based on these neighboring cells and the originating cells (step S411). Referring again to FIG. 3, in the present example, the cells neighboring the originating cell 100a are the cell 100x and the cell 100b, and thus the MSC 107, in step S411, 10Ox, 100a, 100b, to update the group call registration database locally held by the MSC 107 to include the newly created dynamic group call region with the newly created dynamic call region.

In step S413, a call connection message is sent to the mobile station 101 to start the dynamic group call. The notification message including the dynamic group ID 888 is broadcast to all the mobile stations in the group call area (step S417). In this example, the group call area is received in the cells 100x, 100a, 100b and in step S415. BSSs 105a and 105b are instructed to set up signaling and traffic channels in response to a notification made by the BSS 105a or 105b. This message is broadcast on a Notification channel (NCH) and enables all other mobile stations with a unique group identifier TFN, and group call 888 All other mobile stations subscribing to it, thereby using the traffic channels established therein.

The steps associated with the processes performed with respect to the cells (100x, 100b) - neighboring the cell (100a) from which the group call originated) will now be described in connection with the cell (100b). When a traffic channel is set in the cell 100b, the base station (BSS) 105b transmits a standard TCH allocation message to the SCP 117 via the MSC 107 (step S418) (Step S419) to store the entry in the database for the neighboring cell 100b. Meanwhile, according to standard methods, the BSS 105b monitors for a response on the uplink traffic channel from a mobile station in the cell 100b for a predetermined period of time (step S421). If there is no response within this period, the BSS 105b sends a deallocation traffic channel notification message to the SCP 117 via the MSC 107 (step S423) 117 to deallocate the entry for the traffic channel in cell 100b. It should be noted that while the traffic channel is being removed, the signaling channel is not pulled down and furthermore the de-allocation of the traffic channel is not related to the group call area (which remains at 100x, 100a, 100b).

Therefore, it can be seen that the group call regions formed according to the embodiment of the present invention have characteristics including active cells and passive cells. Active cells are for the case where there are signaling and traffic channels and there are as many active cells as there are cells containing participants in the group call. Passive cells refers to active cells and neighboring cells, and refers to the case where only signaling channels exist. Thus, in the current example, there is one active cell 100a and two passive cells 100x and 100b during the time the train and all the employees in the train are located in the cell 100a. This channel allocation and de-allocation method provides a solution to the problem of known technology in which channels must be created when a mobile station moves into a new cell because a signaling channel is already established in some potential "next & As will be described with reference to FIG.

Referring briefly to FIG. 3, as the train moves along the trajectory T1, it enters the cell 100b after a period of time. As a result of the notification messages sent in step S415, cell 100b already has a notification channel (group call area with ID 888 and identifier 00175) associated with this group call. Accordingly, as soon as the mobile station 101 enters the cell 100b, it will detect the presence of a group call having an ID 888 on the notification channel, and in response, the mobile station 101 transmits a group ID 888, (00175) for the unique identifiers registered in the mobile station (101). In this case, since the mobile station 101 has registered in the group call area having the identifier 00175, the group call can be performed in this cell 100b, and as a result, the mobile station 101 can notify the BSS 105b thereafter (Step S501), and the notification response message includes the group call area 00175 and the group ID 888. [0156] When received by the BSS 105b, the BSS 105b allocates a traffic channel there (step S502) and sends a notification of the traffic channel assignment to the SCP for the cell 100b (step S503 )).

Upon receiving the traffic channel allocation message, the SCP 117 refers back to the previously stored cell configuration map described above with respect to step S407 to identify all the cells neighboring the current cell 100b , And updates the status for the cell ID 100b to that having the active traffic channel therein (step S505). Thereafter, the identifiers of the cells adjacent to the current cell 100b are transmitted to the MSC 107, which in this case becomes the cell 100c, and a command to update the cell 100c to include the cell 100c To the MSC 107 (step S507). Upon receiving this command message, the MSC 107 updates the table (step S508), and transmits a notification message to the cell 100c newly added to the group call area (step S509) (Step S511). Then, the process as described in step S415 of FIG. 4 is performed.

In addition to adding cells to the group call area as the group call moves, the cells that were previously part of the group call area are deleted therefrom. Referring to FIG. 6, deleting cells from the call group area is conveniently performed on a basis of standard signaling messages, i.e., a traffic deassignment message. This message will be transmitted by the BSS 105a when the train (and therefore the mobile station 101) has moved out of the cell 100a because once the train has moved into the cell 100b, Because there are no mobile stations capable of responding to announcement messages with group call area 00175 and group ID 888. [ Once a traffic deassignment message is received by the SCP 117, the entry corresponding to cell ID 100a is updated to the state of the traffic channel. The SCP 117 then searches for cells listed in the group call area that are not in contiguous with the current active cell (s) (e.g., the cell (s) in which the traffic channel is active) and are in an unassigned state. Referring back to FIG. 3, in the current example, the current active cell is cell 100b and there are three inactive or passive cells 100x, 100a, and 100c. Cell 100x is removed from the call group area by SCP 117 because it is not currently neighboring active cell 100b (step 603). The message is then sent to the MSC 107 which commands the MSC 107 to delete the cell 100x stored in step 411 from the group call area and this deletion is executed in step S607, The MSC 107 proceeds to instruct to stop transmission of the notification messages to the BSS 105x corresponding to the deleted cell via the signaling channel channel NCH (step S607).

As described above, there will be as many active cells as there are participants in the group call that occupy different cells, so in the example shown in FIG. 3, if the train is long / long or the participants are long in the train, it can be assumed that all participants in the group call are in a single cell at any one time and that there will be a number of passive cells and some active cells that are much larger than that shown in FIG.

5 and 6 illustrate how the activation of traffic channels in any given active cell is synchronized with the activation and deactivation of signaling channels in future, current, and previous passive cells Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > cell < / RTI > In summary, and according to a method of generalizing an ongoing group call management process, allocation and deallocation of voice channels are reported to the MSC 107 by the BSSs 105a ... 105c. Voice channel assignment is used by the MSC 107 to request that the serving node 117 find neighbor cells of the active cell (e.g., a cell for which the voice channel is active). These cells are then added to the group call area. The deallocation information is used to remove all cells from the group call area if neighboring cells of the cell to which the voice channel is currently assigned no longer exist.

Upon termination of the group call, various messages are communicated between various mobile and network entities and will now be described with reference to FIG. Generally, the group call will be terminated by the mobile station 101 by way of a standard termination request message (step S701). For purposes of illustration, a termination request is assumed to be received when the mobile station is in cell 100b, in order for this message to be received from the mobile station 101 by the BSS 105b. The BSS 105b sends an end request message to the MSC 107 which generates a group call termination instruction identifying the group call area 00175 and the group ID 888 and sends this message to the SCP (117). In response, the SCP 117 removes all cells from the mapping corresponding to this group call area and group ID (step S705), and furthermore the SCP 117 sends an instruction to the MSC 107, The MSC 107 instructs the MSC 107 to delete the cells from the group call area associated with the group call (step S707). Upon receipt, the MSC 107 identifies the group call that it has generated in step 411, and all BSSs 105a, 105b, 105c (step S709).

In addition to the conventional functions specified in the GSM standard 03.68 (GSM Standard 03.68) from the foregoing, the SCP 117 may define a group call area including a plurality of neighboring cells (e.g., step S409) MSC 107 and sends commands to add cells to the group call area and to delete cells from the group call area (e.g., steps S507 and S605) . The SCP 117 is further configured to receive traffic allocation and deallocation messages in connection with neighboring cells, and such traffic channel messages trigger updates to the register holding the details of the group calls (step S407 , S505, S603) causes the SCP 117 to send the aforementioned messages to the MSC 107. [

The MSC 107 is responsible for storing the group calls and cell details associated with the group call (if there is a number between 880 and 888 in the present example) And the MSC 107 receives an instruction from the SCP 117 as shown, for example, in steps S411, 508 and 607 May be added to and deleted from cells belonging to the group call area. The MSC 107 is then configured to send traffic assignment and deallocation command messages to the SCP 107 (which are received from the BSS using a standard uplink reply / notification feature) ). This additional functionality may be implemented as a switch or software that runs on the switch 107 and on the SCP 117 and as a repository accessible to the SCP.

Mobile stations may also receive dynamic group calls (e. G., Between 880 and 888) based on the group call area (e. G., Unique group identifiers - in the above example this is the identity of the train) Id) of the group call. This functionality may be implemented on a portable module (SIM) or mobile phone associated with the subscription of the user. Such functionality is similar to filtering in Shunting Groups in GSM-Railway (GSM-R) environments. This means that it is possible for any given mobile station to have two (for example, one for each unique identifier) with the same group ID (e.g., 888) on the assumption that the mobile station has previously been registered for each of the groups To participate in dynamic group calls.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that embodiments of the present invention, by using identifiers to define group call areas, makes it possible for groups with the same group number to be distinguished in coexistence with others within the same group of cells . If there is no means to distinguish the different group call areas from one group call area when their physical locations overlap (as a result, the groups merge to form a single group), or if the group joins the first time the mobile station communicates (As a result of which the selection of the group by the mobile station is essentially any process) is controlled by the notification channel, which is an improvement over the known technology.

Additional specifics and modifications

Although the use of a unique group identifier in the above-described embodiment has been described in connection with dynamic group calls, aspects of the present invention may also be utilized for static group calls because the means for distinguishing between different group calls existing within a given area As shown in FIG. While the foregoing embodiment has been described in connection with coordination of group calls in connection with train travel, embodiments of the present invention may alternatively be used in an environment involving mobile and static group calls. Examples include groups of workers working in factories, emergency services (specific departments of police or fire brigades), teams participating in sporting events such as sailing, groups of archaeologists distributed in a given area, And groups of construction workers.

It should be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative of the present invention. In other embodiments, one or more MSCs may predict an example with respect to the group calls that are involved. In such a scenario, one MSC is designated as the controller of the group call, that is an anchor MSC. If the group call area includes cells that are not under the control of the anchor MSC, then the MSC for those cells also participates in the group call as a Relay MSC. This enables movement of group calls when different MSCs become available.

Any feature described in connection with any one embodiment may be used alone, in combination with other described features, or in combination with one or more of the features of any of the other embodiments, It should be understood that the invention may be utilized in combination with embodiments. Furthermore, equivalents and modifications not described above may be viewed as not departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined by the accompanying claims.

Claims (25)

CLAIMS 1. A method for establishing a call group for participation in a group call by a plurality of mobile devices in a mobile telecommunications network, And a serving node operative to transmit and receive data from the mobile communication devices,
The method comprises:
Receiving at the serving node data indicative of a unique group identifier identifying a vehicle from a given mobile device registered with the mobile communication network; And
Defining a group call area using the received unique group identifier
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the defined group call area is accessible by the serving node to enable the serving node to distinguish between one call group registered in the communication network and another call group registered in the communication network . 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication network retains data identifying group call numbers and at least one of the group call numbers is reserved for dynamic group calls, In addition,
The method comprises:
Receiving, at the serving node, data representing a group call number; And
Identifying the group call as a static type of group call or a dynamic type of group call on a basis of the group call number;
≪ / RTI > The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the communication network further comprises a plurality of radio access nodes and the serving node is operative to transmit and receive data to and from the plurality of radio access nodes, The first radio access node establishes a data communication channel with the mobile communication device,
The method comprises:
Identifying a radio access node adjacent to the first radio access node; And
Further defining the group call area based on the first radio access node and the neighboring radio access node
≪ / RTI > The method of claim 3,
Further comprising setting a signaling channel in the neighboring radio access node, the signaling channel including an identifier corresponding to the group call area. 5. The method of claim 4,
Generating a data communication channel in response to a signaling request message from the mobile communication device identifying the neighboring radio access node to define the neighboring radio access node as the first radio access node step
≪ / RTI > 6. The method of claim 5,
Identifying a plurality of radio access nodes adjacent to the first radio access node, wherein the group call area is defined based on the first radio access node and the plurality of neighboring radio access nodes. The method according to claim 6,
Identifying a radio access node in the group call area that is not adjacent to the first radio access node; And
Removing the radio access node identified from the group call area
/ RTI > 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the first radio access node is defined based on responses received from the mobile communication device at the plurality of radio access nodes and the data communication channel is maintained. CLAIMS 1. A method for managing a group call involving a plurality of mobile communication devices,
Wherein the plurality of mobile communication devices are registered with a communication network via a serving node and the serving node is adapted to send and receive data to and from a plurality of radio access nodes for communicating with the registered mobile communication devices Wherein at least a first radio access node of the radio access nodes establishes a data communication channel with the mobile communication device of the plurality of mobile communication devices to perform the group call,
The method comprises:
Identifying a radio access node adjacent to the first radio access node;
Defining a group call area using a unique group identifier that identifies a vehicle from a given mobile communication device based on the first radio access node and the neighboring radio access node; And
Establishing a signaling channel within a cell corresponding to the neighboring radio access node
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the signaling channel comprises the unique group identifier corresponding to the group call area. 10. The method of claim 9,
In response to a signaling request message from the mobile communication device identifying the neighboring radio access node to define the neighboring radio access node as the first radio access node or an additional first radio access node, ≪ / RTI >
≪ / RTI > 11. The method of claim 10,
Identifying a plurality of radio access nodes adjacent to the first radio access node, wherein the group call area is defined based on the first radio access node and the plurality of neighboring radio access nodes. 12. The method of claim 11,
Identifying a radio access node in the group call area that is not adjacent to the first radio access node; And
Removing the radio access node identified from the group call area
/ RTI > delete delete CLAIMS What is claimed is: 1. A network node for establishing a call group for participation in a group call by a plurality of mobile devices in a mobile communication network, the mobile communication network comprising: Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > a < / RTI > serving node,
The network node comprising:
An interface configured to receive data indicative of a unique group identifier identifying a vehicle from a given mobile device registered with the mobile communication network; And
A processing system configured to define a group call area using the received unique group identifier;
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Wherein the network node is configured to enable access by the serving node to the defined group call area to enable the serving node to distinguish between one call group registered in the communication network and another call group registered in the communication network, Wherein the network node is configured to provide to the serving node. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the communications network retains data identifying group call numbers, at least one of the group call numbers reserved for dynamic group calls,
And the serving node is configured to identify the group call as a group call of a static type or a group call of a dynamic type based on the group call number. 17. The method of claim 16,
Wherein the communication network further comprises a plurality of radio access nodes, the serving node being operative to transmit and receive data to and from the plurality of radio access nodes, The radio access node establishes a data communication channel with the mobile communication device,
The network node comprising:
Identifying a radio access node adjacent to the first radio access node,
And to further define the group call area based on the first radio access node and the neighboring radio access node. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the network node is configured to identify a plurality of radio access nodes that are adjacent to the first radio access node, and wherein the group call region is configured to identify the first radio access node and the plurality of neighboring radio access nodes ≪ / RTI > 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the network node identifies a radio access node in the group call area that is not adjacent to the first radio access node,
And to remove the radio access node identified from the group call area. A group call management system in which a plurality of mobile communication apparatuses manage a group call associated with the group call management system,
Wherein the plurality of mobile communication devices are registered with a communication network via a serving node and the serving node is adapted to send and receive data to and from a plurality of radio access nodes for communicating with the registered mobile communication devices Wherein at least a first radio access node of the radio access nodes establishes a data communication channel with the mobile communication device of the plurality of mobile communication devices to perform the group call,
Wherein the group call management system comprises:
A network node configured to identify a radio access node adjacent to the first radio access node in response to a service request message identifying the first radio access node; And
Means for configuring a group call area based on the first radio access node and the neighboring radio access node
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Wherein the group call area is defined using a unique group identifier that identifies a vehicle from a given mobile communication device,
Wherein at least some of the neighboring radio access nodes are configured to set up a signaling channel, the signaling channel including the unique group identifier corresponding to the group call area. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein each neighboring radio access node comprises:
In response to a signaling request message from the mobile communication device identifying the neighboring radio access node to define the neighboring radio access node as the first radio access node or an additional first radio access node, The group call management system comprising: 22. The method of claim 21 wherein the network node is configured to identify a plurality of radio access nodes adjacent to the first radio access node, Group call management system. 21. The method of claim 20,
The network node identifying a radio access node in the group call area that is not adjacent to the first radio access node,
And to remove the radio access node identified from the group call area. 21. The method of claim 20,
And the serving node comprises means for configuring the group call area. 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the serving node is configured to receive a service response message from the network node, the service response message including data identifying the group call area, And to send signaling instruction messages to the defined radio access nodes, wherein the signaling instruction messages comprise instructions for setting the signaling channels or setting up respective signaling channels.

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